Company’s recipe for sales: Add fiber, cinnamon

For now, O'Leary said General Mills has switched to testing in select markets in China, rather than trying to tackle the country as a whole. Without providing details, he said the company is selling a version of Cheerios in those markets.

LESS SMOKING MEANS ... A CASE OF THE MUNCHIES?

General Mills executives say convenience stores are turning to packaged foods and drinks as a way to make up for the steep declines in cigarette sales over the years.

So the company is hoping to capitalize by developing products specifically for convenience stores. In Iowa, for instance, it recently tested ready-to-eat Pillsbury cinnamon rolls that come four to a package for about $2. Bethany Quam, president of the company's convenience & foodservice unit, said the idea is to make foods portable and easy to eat on the go: she noted that 60 percent of the food purchased at convenience stores gets eaten within 15 minutes in the car.